Back in the 1990s, Sotheby’s held a breakthrough auction of comic book art. In the years hence, the genre has captured the imagination of collectors the world over. Today The Appraisal Group celebrates the life and work of Matt Baker (1921-1959),  the first African-American graphic artist to find success in the comic book industry. He was there for the birthing of it. He was the man who re-designed Phantom Lady into her best known incarnation during the Golden Age of comics. Matt Baker was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.

Born in Forsyth County, NC, raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Matt Baker spent his late teens in Washington, DC. Heart disease kept him from the World War II draft. He matriculated at Cooper Union in New York City and entered the world of comics through the Jerry Iger Studio, a packager that outsourced comics to publishers entering the new medium.

Matt Baker was a master at capturing the female form. His super heorines of the “good girl” comics are filled with nuance and subtle detailing.  Among these are his first confirmed work,  the 12-page “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle” story in Fiction House‘s Jumbo Comics #69 (cover-dated Nov. 1944), in which he penciled and inked the women while Robert Webb and Alex Blum did the rest. He also did work for Canteen Kate, drawing all 22 installments,  as well as stories in the suspense anthology Tales of The Mysterious Traveler; the comedic-adventure feature “Sky Girl” in Fiction House‘s Jumbo Comics, the jungle adventure Tiger Girl.  Flamingo, South Sea Girl, Glory Forbes, Kayo Kirby, Risks Unlimited, and Lorna Doone owe a debt to Baker’s skills.

Publishers that relied on Matt Baker include Fiction House, Fox Comics, Quality Comics and St. John Publications. In later years, he independently teamed with inker Jon D’Agostino under the pseudonym Matt Bakerino at Charlton Comics. He later used the pen name Curt Davis. 

 Matt Baker’s work comes up regularly at auction and at comic book conventions. When we come across a collection that is undocumented, The Appraisal Group works with comic book experts to appraise value.